This patent is directed to a method and a system for alerting a user, such as a nurse or other healthcare professional, to a potential for a bolus condition, and, in particular, to a method and system for alerting a user to a potentially unintended bolus condition during concomitant fluid delivery to a patient.
Therapy, or treatment, for a medical condition may be characterized in a number of different ways. For example, therapy may be discussed in terms of the agent used to affect a change in the patient's condition, such as a drug or radiation. As another example, therapy may be discussed in terms of the mode or route of administration.
Infusion therapy—the intravenous delivery (i.e., delivery into a vein) of therapy, for example—is well known in the art. In its simplest form, infusion therapy may be carried out using a container or bag connected to a patient via a drip chamber, an administration set and a catheter. In such a system and according to such a method, fluid passes from the bag to the patient under the influence of gravity. In a more complex system, a pump or a cuff may be used to control the flow of the fluid to the patient.
For a number of reasons, healthcare providers prefer to share a common intravenous (IV) injection site when providing infusions of multiple fluids or drugs to a patient. Chief among the reasons for sharing a common site is the minimization of trauma to the patient. By using a common site, multiple needle sticks are avoided, with a reduced risk of infection and bruising as a consequence. Another important reason for using common IV injection sites is to minimize opportunity for patient movement to result in inadvertent separation of the infusion connection. Therefore, the providers (e.g., nurses) may set up a manifold or Y-site connection to facilitate sharing of the common injection site.
However, the same sharing of the injection site that prevents trauma and minimizes inadvertent separation may set up the conditions under which an unintended bolus of a drug may be delivered to the patient. For example, consider a situation where the site is already being used by a first fluid delivery device (such as a first pump) to deliver a fluid at a first delivery rate to the patient along a line having a Y-site connection. When a second fluid delivery device is connected to the patient using the Y-site connection and then actuated to deliver fluid at a second delivery rate through the Y-site connection, the flow rate of fluid downstream of the Y-site connection is accelerated to a rate equal to the sum of the first and second delivery rates. As the fluid path prior to initiation of the second infusion contains only the first infusate, this acceleration of the delivery of this fluid may have the effect of delivering a bolus of the fluid from the first delivery device to the patient until the second fluid also reaches the injection site, and yet the provider may not appreciate that this bolus is being delivered and may not intend for the bolus to be administered. With certain medications, the delivery of a bolus may have a significant adverse effect on the patient, and thus should be avoided if at all possible.
As set forth in greater detail below, the present disclosure sets forth an improved assembly embodying advantageous alternatives to the conventional devices and methods discussed above. In particular, the present disclosure addresses the significant unmet need in the area of systems and methods for alerting a healthcare provider to the potential for an unintended delivery of a bolus to patient.